Today, IndyGo began service of the new crosstown along 86th street (click to open .pdf) on the north-side of Indianapolis. The service, one of the few of the fixed services which does not run through downtown, connects a number of north-side spoke routes along 86th street providing access to a multitude of jobs, medical facilities, grocery stores and other retail options. Additionally, the growing number of apartment complexes on the north-side now have a new option to get to and fro without having to fight automobile congestion which is rampant at most times during the day, whether it is rush hour or not.
The new service runs on 30 minute head-ways which is technically not frequent, but compares to most other routes in the system including the 7 routes which provide transfers. The 86 fills a much needed niche in the local transit network in that it connects north-side population centers with high intensity destinations without a lengthy trip downtown to do so.
The line’s design hits many check marks on the list of what would constitute a well designed transit line for the most part because it hits most of the destinations on the way, lies in a straight line and its designation, the 86, leaves little room to figure out where in the city it is located. In many ways this new service, designed to boost ridership, is an interesting experiment. Will the  north-side embrace more public transit in an already congested automobile arterial? I am anxious to see how ridership numbers trend on this new line.
From what I can see (work in Castleton), this route is pretty popular. I’ve seen a good amount of people loading/unloading each time. Not bad for a brand new route.
I’m actually kind of excited about this route. The only route that serviced my area before was the St Vincent line and that’s only useful if I want to go downtown. I spend a decent amount of money at Keystone at the Crossing, Clearwater, and Castleton and although I have a car I’m likely going to start using this route to save on gas money. I’ve known several people who’ve had their babies at the hospital on Shadeland (Community North?) and it’s annoying driving through Castleton to get there so this sounds good. I see people at the stops in Nora and Casleton all the time too and there are so many apartment complexes within ten blocks north and south of 86th street that aren’t luxury complexes where people definitely need transportation to get to work. Sometimes people think that everyone has cars on the far northside but that’s not the case so this is a great improvement and works together with the sidewalks that span most of 86th. Now it needs some connecting sidewalks (such as on Westlane road and Shadeland) so people don’t have to walk in the dirt and almost get hit by cars (especially in the evening). Good news about the upcoming indygo phone app too.